Evaluation of online health i̇nformation seeking behavior, e-health literacy and cyberchondria status of i̇ndividuals over the age of 18

Aim: In this study, we aim to determine the level of internet usage as health information seeking behavior and what factors affecting it, and to determine the level of online health information seeking behavior- e-health literacy- cyberchondria and the relationship among them. Material and Method: 529 volunteers participated in our study. A form consisting of 22 questions asking about the participants' sociodemographic data, E-health Literacy Scale to determine the level of the participants' e-health literacy and Cyberchondria Severity Scale consisting of 33 questions to determine the level of the participants' cyberchondria are applied to the participants. While evaluating the results from this study, continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and categorical data were expressed as numbers and percentages. In the intergroup analysis of continuous variables, normality analyzes were performed by using Kolmogorov-Smirnov Goodness of Fit Test. The Mann Whitney U Test was used for the comparison of the data which did not fit the normal distribution between the two groups, and the Kruskal Wallis Test was used for the comparisons of the three groups and more. The Mann Whitney U Test was used for further analysis in these comparisons, and the Chi-Square Test was used for the comparison of categorical data. The linear relationship between the scales was determined by performing the Pearson Correlation Test. Analyzes were performed with IBM SPSS (Statistics Package Program for Social Sciences) version 24.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA). Statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Findings: The mean age of total of 529 participants is found as 39.41±12.73 years (55.2% of them >35 years) in this study. 94% of the participants state that they use the internet to search health information. Internet usage due to health-related issues is significantly higher in the participants aged 35 and younger, women, and those with higher education levels. e-Health Literacy Scale scores are significantly higher among participants aged 35 and younger than those over 35, participants who do not have children compared to those who have children, university-master's graduates compared to primary school graduates, participants with an income of > 10000 TL compared to those with an income of 3001 - 10000 TL, and participants who are employed compared to those who do not work (p <0.05). Cyberchondria total scale scores are statistically significantly higher in participants aged 35 and younger than in those over 35, and participants who are non-health workers compared to those who are health workers (p<0.05). Low or insignificant strong and statistically significant positive correlation was found between the e-Health Literacy Scale and Cyberchondria Scale total scores (r=0.240, p<0.001). Result: Internet mostly used for searching health information and a positive relationship among the level of daily internet usage- e-health literacy – cyberchondria was found in the study. This study is the first research which compares the level of e-health literacy and the level of cyberchondria in the literature. In order to increase e-health literacy and protect the patients from cyberchondria, determining the related factors and researching on this subject more is significantly important. Keywords: internet, e- health literacy, cyberchondria, online health information seeking behavior